The Devil Spawn No longer Breaths

An Elastic Heart

Damian's eyes fluttered open. something had woken him up. for several minuets he just lay there puzzled as to what had disturbed his sleep. it finally clicked when he looked at his clock. the tower, though typically quiet,has never been THIS quiet. there was always the hum of machinery or the quiet giggle of the girls bonding or the ongoing video game competition down in the rec room. but today, there was only the sound of open windows and waves on the near by beach. it was nearly eleven and there was no sign of the  other titans.  although he expected it to be quieter because Jaime and Garfield would be 'out on the town' for most of the day, he still expected to at least hear something coming from the girls. Starfire and Raven had formed quite the mother daughter bond and it was nice to see raven so happy. even if he would never admit it, Damian loved to see her smile. but today there was a heavy silence that rested on the tower. slightly unnerved, Damian shook the sleep from his eyes  and went to investigate. rec room? empty. bedrooms? empty. lounge, control center, kitchen, bathrooms,briefing room, all void of life. he shook his head. the only reason that he would still be drowsy after 15 minuets of waking up would be because he had been drugged.  he stumbled back to his room to find the tracking device  in the drawer. just as he opened the drawer, he herd a quiet thunk  just above his head. there, embedded in the wood of his dresser, was an arrow with a note attached to the shaft. he glared at the message written on the paper.  in tight, familiar cursive, was a set of coordinates and a very simple threat. be here or they suffer the consequences. he growled low in his throat. Talia was holding at least two of his friends hostage. and that meant she wanted something from him or she wanted him. ether way, with his friend in danger, he couldn't risk her becoming impatient. he was dressed and shooting out of the garage in less than ten minuets after he received the note. in the ten after that he found himself outside a seaside warehouse. as soon as he cut the engine and dismounted the motorcycle, he was surrounded by his mother's elite and escorted inside. there ordering people around like usual, was Talia al Ghul. at the sound of footsteps coming toward her, she turned. a blood red smile and a voice sweet as honey greeted him."Damian! my son, how are you?" she gently held his face as she pressed a loving kiss to his forehead. in an instant, Damian knew that something was wrong. Talia never kissed him. this new, gentler Talia was already starting to scare him.
"mother, what-"
" Quiet my son. you will have your answers soon enough."
with that she wrapped him in a hug. OK, something is majorly  wrong. Tallia has only hugged him twice in his life. when he had come out of a coma when he was seven and when Ra's died. when Talia stepped back, Damian instantly went to look for some flicker of his mother from before. then he saw it. instead of vivid green eyes he had grown up looking to for support, was blood red irises. all seance  of normality  that had been there before was now gone. he realized that, in order to keep on this stranger's good side, he had to play along.
" of course, mother. although i would like to see if my friends are alright." she smiled and giggled.
"of course my son. come this way." she lead him through the surprisingly busy warehouse. in one area was weapons and ammunition. in another was bio chemical warfare. in another common street drug.in another was food and water storage. it looked like talia was ready to start and survive the Apocalypse. finally they came to the area ware his friends were being held.